Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on whether goods originating from Israeli settlements are labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has undertaken (a) investigations and (b) enforcement measures as a result of goods originating from Israeli settlements being labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.
Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance.
The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.